To say it’s been a trying year for the Dallas Cowboys would be a massive understatement. The Cowboys have been one of the NFL’s most successful regular season teams since 2021, and while they have nothing to show for it, they at least seemingly had a competitive window.
And that window appeared to stay open as the team handed out unprecedented contracts to quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Even after the Cowboys lost Dan Quinn and a number of defensive players, it was widely assumed that this team would at least be good enough to secure a Wild Card spot in the NFC.
That hasn’t been the case, and now the Cowboys are looking at an offseason of reloading in 2025. Which pending free agents will the fanbase be fine saying goodbye to in the coming months?
3 Free Agents Cowboys Fans Won’t Be Sad to See Leave in 2025
1. Trey Lance, QB
You can’t miss what you never had, right?
The Dallas Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick last year to get Trey Lance in the building, and it’s become impossible to tell what the vision was from Mike McCarthy and company after making that deal. At the very least, Lance could have been used in a role where his running skills were put on display, but we didn’t even get to see that from him.
Instead, it feels like Lance could have spent the last couple of years in a situation much more favorable for him and his overall career arc.
There should still be a level of intrigue as Lance is slated to hit free agency but I don’t think fans in Dallas are going to miss the offseason discussions centered around him and whether or not he could end up being a future starter or trade piece for the team.
It’s time for Lance to move on to a new NFL city and find his footing elsewhere.
2. Brandin Cooks, WR
The Dallas Cowboys’ acquisition of veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks last offseason feels like the perfect representation of unmet expectations and false promises. And that’s not Cooks’s fault, specifically.
The Cowboys decided to trade for Cooks in 2023 instead of attack the wide receiver position in other ways, and while Cooks has managed to catch 11 touchdown passes in his two years in Dallas, his effectiveness for this offense has been far too sporadic.
In the 2024 season, Cooks had just 23 catches for 244 yards and his lowest yards per reception (10.6) of any year in his NFL career since his rookie season. There was merit to this idea on paper when the Cowboys made it last year but the more time has gone on, the more you can’t help but wonder if one of the wide variety of receiver trades that have been made for other (better) players over the last two years would have suited Dallas more.
Or if the team should have just gone all the way in on a total youth movement at the position. Cooks played 72 percent of the Cowboys’ total offensive snaps (that he’s been healthy for) over the last two years, meaning his overall lack of ideal production given his pay grade came along with taking a lot of snaps from other guys who could have potentially both helped this team or maybe given a better glimpse into the future.
Cooks has played for five NFL teams including the Cowboys, and Dallas will be the first team he has played for that he didn’t end up having a 1,000-yard season for. It’s a shame things didn’t work out for Cooks with Dallas as everybody hoped they would when he was acquired in 2023, but Cowboys fans won’t be sad to move on to the next in 2025.
3. CJ Goodwin, CB
With all due respect to a player like CJ Goodwin who has carved out a long NFL career by being great on special teams, I don’t think Dallas Cowboys fans are going to be too upset if he walks in free agency to another team.
Goodwin is going to turn 35 years old in February and his best days are likely behind him at this point. While he’s been a reliable special teams player for the majority of his NFL career, you have to be able to identify those types of guys through the NFL Draft in the later rounds and that’s likely what the Cowboys will do this year.
Goodwin has been with the Cowboys for seven years at this point but if his playing career is going to continue beyond this season, it might be in another NFL city.
He had eight tackles for the Cowboys this year and played a whopping 376 snaps on special teams. That’s indicative of a guy who is not only one of your core-four special teams players but someone who is arguably the most trusted special teams ace on the roster.
But again, for your top special teams ace to be turning 35 early in the 2025 offseason?
It’s probably time for the Cowboys to invest in a younger player who can help them consistently on special teams going forward.
